Elitist Book Reviews

Don't worry. Despite having the word Twilight in the title, THE TWILIGHT HERALD is nothing like the book in our last review. This is Tom Lloyd's second entry in his Twilight Reign series, and it is much grander is scope and larger in size than the opening book, THE STORMCALLER.

In a word (and you only need one from us): AWESOME.

Tom Lloyd is a newcomer, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have what it takes to blow us away with his story telling. He has managed to create a believable, original setting using the familiar fantasy tropes and bending or breaking them to his will. Populating his enormous, top-notch world is an exponentially growing list of characters, most of whom are distinct and interesting.

Isak, the main protagonist of the series, becomes a lot more interesting in this second book than he was in THE STORMCALLER--despite having less actual 'screen' time--but his friends and enemies once again steal the scene like they did in the first entry to the series. Lloyd's depictions of his characters allay all of our fears, and proves to us that he knows his characters inside and out; Lloyd has thought them through, and has gone to great lengths to make them believable and interesting. No easy feat considering the number of superhero-esque people walking The Land.

In THE TWILIGHT HERALD, the story focuses on the city of Scree, where the major players in this series are all drawn for one reason or another. We particularly liked the sheer number of points of view in THE TWILIGHT HERALD. We get a very real handle on the motivations and machinations of many of the characters. The only negative we could find for the book was that we felt inundated with the characters talking, talking, talking, and still talking. However, despite this the slow buildup of tension intrigued us every step of the way. The climax is explosive and leaves us breathless, waiting for THE GRAVE THIEF, the series' third book.

The moody, gloomy setting of this second book only heightens our excitement for the destruction and doom that is going to follow. This is writing done well. We don't need the author to tell us in footnotes or interviews that things are grim--his writing shows it and we feel it.

The battles are big, brutal, and beautiful (enough 'B' words for you?), the politics are fun to read and create a sense of depth greater than even those lauded colossal fantasy series (you know who they are), and the world feels very real (except for the lame name of the world 'The Land').

Go buy it.

Recommended Age: 15 and up.
Language: We can't remember anything particularly foul.
Violence: This book makes Quentin Tarantino look like an amateur. Not only is it gratuitous, but extremely well done. Thumbs way up on this part.
Sex: References to adultery, and promiscuity, but nothing that isn't on prime-time TV.


Nick's note: I was in my local B&N looking for something new and exciting, and being disappointed. Then I saw a lone copy of THE STORMCALLER. I picked it up on sheer production value alone. As I chatted a bit with Lou Anders, while I was reading THE STORMCALLER, about why he liked it, I realized Tom Lloyd was the real deal. THE STORMCALLER wasn't without a few minor shortcomings, but it showcased Tom Lloyd's talent and made me hungry for THE TWILIGHT HERALD. I wasn't disappointed when I started and finished Book 2. I got the same giddy feeling reading Book 2 that I got playing Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day. In fact, in a lot of ways it reminds me of that story. Tom Lloyd, for me, is on the verge of joining the ranks of my favorite authors.

Do us a favor and go by Tom's website, and give him your undying love for writing AWESOME fantasy novels. Guess who we are nominating for the Hugo Award next year?

http://www.tomlloyd.co.uk

And once again, go give Lou Anders and the folks at Pyr SF&F a big hug for publishing incredible novels here in the US.

http://www.pyrsf.com

Every now and then, we get a little hesitant to pick up and read a novel. We know, this is a dangerous admission on our part--believe it or not we are human sometimes (the rest of the time we are Review Gods, remember?). You see, when we find a series of novels that we like, each subsequent novel in that series becomes more exciting and terrifying to pick up. Why? Because we are afraid of being let down (read: Jim Butcher).

You, faithful readers, may recall our review of Tom Lloyd's THE TWILIGHT HERALD a few weeks back (go here to read it). We loved it, and said you all should go out and worship Mr. Lloyd. We recently received a lovely care-package from Pyr SF&F that contained Lloyd's THE GRAVE THIEF. Yeah, Nick squealed and passed out like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. Seriously. We were quite nervous to start this novel. What if it wasn't as good as the first two? What if we hated it? What if he (Tom Lloyd) decided to throw his aspirations to be an author out the window? We've been talking with Lloyd since our last review of one of his books, and in a recent email, he told us what he hoped to accomplish with THE GRAVE THIEF:

"The middle novel of a series is a tough one to approach - you know there's going to be a lot left open and a lot has been dictated by events of the previous two. Hopefully I've dealt with that by surprising the reader at points. Along the way there might be the odd comment on fanaticism, ethics in politics and war, duty, loyalty, and fear - but mainly it's angry daemons an' stuff."

See, even Tom was worried a bit! So, how was the novel? Did Tom Lloyd deliver? If we could only use two words to describe it, what would we say?

Pretty dang cool. (Well...math was never our strong suit. We can't be good at EVERYTHING...just MOST everything.)

Luckily, we get more than two (or three...) words to tell you what makes this novel so brilliant.

THE GRAVE THIEF builds itself around the results of the ending in the second book, THE TWILIGHT HERALD, which was explosive to say the least. It's hard to keep that excitement, so we will admit--and assume that Tom would agree--that there is a bit of a adrenaline drain at the onset of this third installment. However, with the great cast of characters, an expansive, original and interesting world, and the rising feel and threat of conflict...well, let's just say that adrenaline drain didn't last long. At all.

The events in the second book leave the characters feeling somewhat overwhelmed, beleaguered, haunted, and downright stressed out and the third book capitalizes on that.

And...wait for it...the novel takes a turn for the ominous and dark! Yay!

While THE GRAVE THIEF is the middle child of Tom's series, he certainly went to efforts to make sure it wasn't easily dismissed. The characters are all given a significant and enjoyable amount of 'screen-time'. None of them felt like they were hogging the spotlight, which meant we never felt like we wanted to skip a few pages (you know you've done this in novels before). This was a hard feat to accomplish, especially in light of the darkening moods and attitudes of some of the characters. And this is exactly where the third book shines. It is evocative in it's mood and emotion. Something that helped us through the slower moments. It impresses us tremendously that Tom was able to take something that could have ruined this novel, and make it one of the strongest aspects instead.

The book is engaging and heavily thematic, but there is seriously a lot going on here, both in overt and subtle ways. There are so many new threads and plot-lines that are added and fleshed out here that we just about felt overwhelmed. Just about, but not quite. THE GRAVE THIEF kept us right on the edge. Tom's writing paints a beautiful picture, and uses those threads to make us want more and more. And yes, it is obvious that there is more to come. A lot more.

The focus in this book are the topics of politics, religious fanaticism, and the resulting conflict from those things. We like this sort of stuff, but it did slow the book down quite a bit compared to the earlier two. There are some real world issues that are reflected here in Tom's writing, but it dodges the pitfalls of writing with an agenda. Something a lot of authors could learn from (Was that subtle enough? Did you get who we were pointing the finger at?).

Now with all that said with regards to the slower parts and the focus of the novel, we can move on to the action. The action is, as we have come to expect from this series, nothing short of incredible. We loved every minute of it, and we even reread some of the scenes a second and third time for the sheer pleasure of it. Not to be outdone by the extremely fun conclusion to THE TWILIGHT HERALD, Tom reaches new heights in this books finale. It isn't as grand or epic as the the previous book's ending but it will drop your jaw. The last chapter alone is worth the cover price of the novel. Luckily for us, and you all, the entire book is worth it too.

So the answer to the burning question that you all certainly have is: Yes, this is epic fantasy done extremely well, and Tom Lloyd had assured that he is an author with staying power. THE GRAVE THIEF is different, darker, and slower, yet retains the stuff we love about this series and is a worthy addition to that series and we can't wait for THE RAGGED MAN, the next installment.

In case you didn't get the hint, go buy THE GRAVE THIEF right now! It was released this week!

Recommended Age: 16 and up. Yeah, we upped the age by a year due mostly to the darker tone. However, if you read the first two, your age shouldn't prevent you from picking up the third one.
Language: Nothing too bad or foul really. Like with Erikson, this impresses us.
Violence: Like we said, though not on the same epic magnitude as the prior novel, the action and violence here is insane. By insane we mean there is lots, and it is incredibly well...executed (*snicker* See what we did there?)
Sex: You know, we don't don't actually remember any. Once again, Tom proves that you can have a dark, epic fantasy without resorting to shock-value.

Go email Tom at http://www.tomlloyd.co.uk/contact.html and tell him how much you love him. Because we know you do. Also keep an eye out in the next little while. We have a series of interviews planned, in which Tom has agreed to feature in. (Can you guess how excited we are? WEEEEEE!!)

As you all are well aware, we reviewed the first three novels in Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign series and basically said they were the best thing since sliced bread. So with the release of THE RAGGED MAN, the fourth book in the series, it really became a question of "What more can we say?"

As it turns out, quite a bit.

Those of you who recently read THE GRAVE THIEF are probably still picking your jaw off the ground after that COMPLETELY INSANE ending. Main characters dying, other characters becoming the Mortal-Aspects of Gods, Gods dying, and Styrax being completely awesome. It seems like after every novel in this series we say to ourselves "How is Tom Lloyd going to top this?" Somehow he always does, and his endings leave us completely floored. This novel was no exception.

THE RAGGED MAN picks up right after the bloodbath at the end of THE GRAVE THIEF. The Land is in turmoil. Styrax has become even more vicious in his conquests. Civil war is blooming everywhere. Times are grim. THE RAGGED MAN features a fairly common theme: the tragedy and loss that come from war. Just because many of the characters in Tom Lloyd's series are larger-than-life doesn't mean they have nothing to lose. It is really in this aspect of the novel that Tom really drives home the cost of war. There is a section toward the latter quarter of the novel where Carel is ripping into Vesna about how much everyone has lost. It is in these losses that the great and powerful should realize they are no better than the lowborn. It is particularly powerful to see how Styrax copes with his own losses.

Another of the themes that is illustrated in THE RAGGED MAN to near perfection is the idea of duty. Characters are literally bargaining their souls away because of the duty they feel towards the Land, and towards their Lords and Gods. No matter the cost, there are a few characters that realize just how bad events are becoming with Azaer pulling everyone's strings. You see, with this novel we are getting people's full motivations. It's more than just conquest. Far, far more, and Tom does an amazing job of raising the stakes in a way that makes the reader cognizant of the current and coming dangers. Only those who are willing to sacrifice everything will be able to save the Land.

We've said constantly that we love this series. We recommend it to everyone. However, with our recent reading of Jordan and Sanderson's TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, we realized WHY we love this series so much. Lloyd's Twilight Reign contains all the things we feel are lacking in the Wheel of Time. Danger. Death. Consequences. This series even touches on some similar themes--the long dead king that was living in Isak's head for example. Sound familiar? Only the handling of it in Lloyd's series is so much better, and the purposes behind it feel much more immediate. Where the WoT gets bloated, repetitive and passive, The Twilight Reign is focused, dark, aggressive and active. THE RAGGED MAN really hammered home this sense of fulfilled literary promises that have been withheld by WoT and many other stagnant, epic fantasy series. Another comparison? OK. A few years ago we were at a convention where Lloyd was said to be in a similar vein as Steven Erikson. This is 100% accurate. That's all you need to know.

If there is one thing we wish we could see more of in Lloyd's stories, it is a bit more variety in the Land. We end up being plopped down in the same areas. If you look at the map, we pretty much stick to a extremely small area of the world. Other places are mentioned, but we never see them. Granted, this is part of what gives the story its focus, but there is a huge and rich world to explore here--not to mention the various cultures we barely get glimpses at. With only one book left in the series, it's obvious we aren't going to see these places. We are holding out for some stand-alone sequels like Joe Abercrombie is doing. And by "holding out" we mean begging.

The ending. What can you say. Holy. Freaking. Crap. A portion of the ending was expected--big huge battle with all sorts of death and destruction. But just because you know generally WHO is going to show up to save the day doesn't mean you know HOW it is all going to happen. Trust us, the ending of this book was completely fantastic. In a sense, it was reminiscent of book 1 where the prophecy was broken. The last few lines of the novel really illustrate just how crazy things are probably going to get in the final book.

In THE RAGGED MAN, Tom Lloyd has once again raised the stakes in his series. The action was amazing like usual. Tragedy often strikes just when things seem to be going well. Consequences are real and powerful. This is a grim, dark world that somehow still has glimmers of hope as the incredible characters fight tooth-and-nail for their futures. But now comes the hard part: finishing it all off. With a solid ending, this series could become a cornerstone of the genre. The wait for THE DUSK WATCHMAN is already killing us.

If you aren't reading this series, you are doing yourself an immense disservice. Fortunately, this is easily fixed. Go buy this book, and the three before it right now.

Recommended Age: 17 and up.
Language: There is quite a bit more this time around due to the focus being more on soldiers.
Violence: Tom writes awesome action. He writes very visual and visceral violence. This is a bloody, bloody novel.
Sex: Nope. None.

Oh man. I don't even hardly know where to begin. It seems like only yesterday that Pyr's Lou Anders was talking up this new series he had acquired. It all started with Tom Lloyd's THE STORMCALLER, and Lou Anders was telling everyone who would listen that it was the start of a series that would please all those rabid Steven Erikson fans. Being one of those Erikson fans myself, I was intrigued. I personally picked it up based solely on Anders' description.

Fast-forward several years later, and here we are with the fifth and final novel in The Twilight Reign. THE DUSK WATCHMAN. I had the privilege of reading this novel quite a while ago, and it's been absolute agony not having anyone to talk with about it. I was going to wait for the US release of the novel to write up this review, but I just can't do it. Not enough willpower.

I'm just too dang excited to tell you what I think of this novel, and the series as a whole.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN was incredible. Absolutely stunning. One of the best Fantasy novels I've read.

It's extremely hard to write a review like this. I just want to keep screaming out that the novel is awesome over and over again. I mean, what else do I need to say? Just buy the freaking book! The whole series! Get it for family, friends and strangers! Most importantly, send me the UK versions of books 4 and 5 so I have a matching set!

Then I take a deep breath, and let the reviewer take over.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN takes place right after the carnage of book 4, THE RAGGED MAN. I really, really want to talk about that ending, because it plays heavily into the motivations of Isak, Vesna, Emin and the rest, but that would be spoiling both novels. Instead, let's talk a bit about the themes of THE DUSK WATCHMAN, and the overall feel of it.

First, THE DUSK WATCHMAN deals with consequences. The cast of the series has put themselves on the line countless times, and they've sacrificed literally everything to stop the evil which is now present in the world. And guess what? It hasn't been enough. All that sacrifice. All that pain. All that anguish. It's barely kept The Land afloat. To get a little bit into the plot of the novel (without spoiling any of the surprise), our heroes discover further hints as to a weapon that could potentially alter the downward spiral of the world.

That's all the characters of THE DUSK WATCHMAN have. Hope.

This is a very bleak novel. Every character has been shattered in either their body or mind--or sometimes both. And even with all the death and destruction--and yes, even MORE sacrifice--there is that tiny, delicate thread of hope that has somehow been woven into the novel. If there is one thing that I can point at with Tom Lloyd's progressing work, it is his ability to successfully weave a variety of contradicting emotions into his novels. Every time you read a section with Isak, you will feel this. Every time you read a section from Vesna, you will feel this. All I can do is applaud the author for such a deft handling of heavy material.

In my review of THE RAGGED MAN, I asked for some more variety in the locations the readers would visit. Lloyd did it. He gave me exactly what I wanted, and I loved it. You want details? Too bad. Go buy the novel and read those details for yourself.

The ending. Wow. Just...wow. This isn't just an ending for a novel. This is the ending for an entire series. When an author begins a series, he makes a promise. This promise usually goes unfulfilled. I've read so many series that fail at this critical junction. The endings fall flat, or characters do stupid things so the plot can progress...or we don't even get the final book at all. I've read very few finale novels where the ending made the entire series completely worth it.

THE DUSK WATCHMAN has one of the most insane, awesome endings of any series I've read...and then the Epilogue completely makes you rethink EVERYTHING.  It's the type of ending that you read two or three times, not because it isn't clear, but because it is sooooooo good. Again, it is equally heart-wrenching and triumphant. The last time I felt this satisfied by a series finale was when I read Erikson's THE CRIPPLED GOD.

I suppose that the best compliment I can give Tom Lloyd is that I was 100% impressed by THE DUSK WATCHMAN. He scratched every itch I had, and even a few I didn't know existed. I hesitate to use the word "perfect"...but I'm just so blown away by how this all came together. Is there another word? Stunning? Exceptional? Pick one, and it will likely be true.

I'll just say this: THE DUSK WATCHMAN not only is the best novel in Tom Lloyd's The Twilight Reign, but it masterfully serves as a capstone to one of the most entertaining and enjoyable fantasy series I've ever read. Every fan of Steven Erikson should be reading Tom Lloyd's The Twilight Reign.

Recommended Age: 17+
Language: The characters don't shy away from swearing. It can be pretty strong at times.
Violence: Crazy, crazy violent. But as usual, Lloyd handles it in such a way that it never feels like shock-value.
Sex: I don't remember anything explicit, but there are references.

The US release date for THE DUSK WATCHMAN seems to be November, but it seems fuzzy. Hopefully this means we'll see it then, or maybe (fingers crossed!) a tad earlier. If for some reason you haven't started this series, you need to drop everything and give it a go. The opening novel, like Erikson's work, has a steep learning-curve...but it is worth it. Here are your links to the full series:


THE STORMCALLER
THE TWILIGHT HERALD
THE GRAVE THIEF
THE RAGGED MAN
THE DUSK WATCHMAN

OK, we got called out on it, so to prove that we respond to almost ALL requests. Here is the Top 10. We didn't particularly want to do one, since we only had 4 months of publishing reviews before the year was over, and there were only 26 or 27 books in our Books We Like tag group at the time. But here we are...doing what you wanted, because we are just that great.


Steve's Best 10 Novels of 2009

Note: I have cheated here. Some of these are US releases where I saw fit. Some are UK releases. It's my list. I can do what I want. And no, I will not put an order to them. I refuse. They all do different things incredibly well.

Patient Zero - Jonathan Maberry
The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
Diving into the Wreck - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
Toll the Hounds - Steven Erikson
I Am Not a Serial Killer - Dan Wells
Lamentation - Ken Scholes
The Grave Thief - Tom Lloyd
Dawnthief - James Barclay
Night of Knives - Ian Cameron Esslemont

Steve's Worst 2 Novels of the Year
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
A Princess of Landover - Terry Brooks

Steve's 2010 Most Anticipated Novels
Swords & Dark Magic - Various. Edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan
Watcher of the Dead - J.V. Jones
The Crippled God - Steven Erikson
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
The Ragged Man - Tom Lloyd
Mr. Slaughter - Robert McCammon (Technically I'm not anticipating this. I have it. It is a beautiful book. I will review it shortly.)
The Dragon Factory - Jonathan Maberry
A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin (I know, I know. Wishful thinking here...)
Dan Wells' novels in their various US/UK releases (this is more for you readers...I've read their awesomeness already)
Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson


Nick's Top 10 Novels of 2009

Note: Maybe not the best novels written in 2009 (OK some of them are) but the books that I enjoyed the most.

Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
The City and The City - China Mieville
The Grave Thief - Tom Lloyd
Nightchild - James Barclay
The Silver Skull - Mark Chadbourn
Starship: Flagship - Mike Resnick
Servant of a Dark God - John Brown
Neuropath - R. Scott Bakker (OK Why is this here? The review bashed the book. Well, for one simple reason. This book fueled many of the debates that I love so much. The aftermath of reading this book gave me plenty of entertainment. The book sucked.)
The Devil You Know - Mike Carey
Patient Zero - Jonathan Maberry

Nick's Worst 2 Novels in 2009
The Law of Nines - Terry Goodkind
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Nick's 2010 Most Anticipated Novels
Shadow's Son - Jon Sprunk
The Ragged Man - Tom Lloyd
Empire in Black and Gold - Adrian Tchaikovsky (And book 2 and 3 of the Shadows of the Apt series.)
Ghosts of Manhattan - George Mann (Technically I'm not looking forward to this anymore, since I have read it. I AM looking forward to reviewing it though. Awesome book. Look forward to the review folks.)
Shadow Prowler - Alexey Pehov (Once again, technically not looking forward to it anymore, since I have read it. It is awesome! Especially if you are a fan of Russian writers.)
The Unit - Terry Dehart (Ditto, except for the Russian writer part.)
Sword and Dark Magic - Various. Edited by Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan
The Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch
The Prodigal Mage - Karen Miller
Watcher of the Dead - J.V. Jones
Pinion - Jay Lake


Our 2009 Last Impressions
So. There you have it. Our various lists. As we looked over the lists of books we read, and compared it to the list of books coming out this year, we decided that 2009 was a great year for readers. And 2010? It will be WAY awesome. Seriously, just LOOK at those two lists we made!

After spending the weekend hanging out with agents, editors, and authors, as well as fans, we think this is a pretty good time to post an interview with one of our favorite authors. As you probably already know, we have a lot of respect for Tom Lloyd and his writing. We are pleased to give you this little interview with one of the new, great minds of current fantasy.

Hey Tom.

Hello!

It is becoming a trend here on our website to start an interview off by allowing the author to throw humility (should there be any) to the side. So we extend that invitation to you, of course, and want you to tell us why you're so great.

Because you guys say I am? No? Erm, ok then… I’m great because my fantasy world is more rounded than most, it has a greater depth of history and society than you often find. If you don’t like that, fuck you then ;0) The world-view is as complex as a cold war novel, and the battles will take your breath away! People also like the fact Isak’s isn’t the only perspective you could use for the series – Styrax certainly isn’t one of the good guys, but he’s just on the other side of the conflict to Isak – it wouldn’t take much to tell the whole tale from his side of things and I think that adds a little more authenticity to proceedings.

Along the same lines, in a recent email to us you mentioned you know what your strengths are as far as writing goes. For our readers, what are those strengths specifically? And if you're feeling brave, tell us what you think your weaknesses in writing are.

Well that’ll teach me to foolishly speak out of turn. Ahem, I think my strengths are instilling some passion into scenes, sweeping the reader up into the plot so they keep turning the pages as well as giving them a world they feel has lots yet to be discovered and explained. On the other side, my prose isn’t prize-winning and I’ve still got a lot to learn on the technical side of things. Writing in a passive voice is what comes naturally and it’s something my editor is slowly trying to beat out of me, and because I do like the view to be detailed and rounded I can go off on explanations that really aren’t necessary and need red pen to be scrawled all over.

When you aren't writing what occupies your time?

Watching sport on TV. No, seriously… well, ok I do have to drag myself away from it on occasion, but it’s only reluctantly. On the work side of things I’ve been in publishing for almost ten years now and I now work part-time as contracts manager for Atlantic Books in London – an arrangement which has made a big difference to my writing life, halving the hours I spend in an office. This has given me my social life back from the years when I wrote Twilight Reign and Grave Thief in evenings and weekends, which is useful since I got married in July and need to have some time left to spend with Fi!

Prior to THE STORMCALLER, how many books did you write that were never published? Was writing always an aspiration of yours?

None, well, kinda… I spent five or six years writing Stormcaller, not just on the plot but writing and rewriting as a means to teach myself how to write. Upon reflection that was pretty silly, I should have used a more disposable idea than the start of a complex multi-book series, but I didn’t think so hard about it at the time! Once I’d had a few rejections from publishers and agents I started on something new, working on the assumption that Stormcaller might never be anything more than my practice novel. Sixty thousand words in and Stormcaller got picked up by an agent, just after I’d prepared myself to write it off, so technically there’s an unfinished novel called Moon’s Artifice that I’ll return to once I’ve finished book 5 of the Twilight Reign.

As a brand new, published, author, you have a unique perspective on the publishing industry and what it is like to get published. Tell us a little bit about that please? Also, what has it been like working with the illustrious Lou Anders for the US releases of your novels?

Well my perspective is probably a bit different to most authors – I’ve worked for three publishers and two literary agents in my career, so in some ways it was just perfectly natural because people get published around me all the time. But then I had to remind myself that my name, my actual frigging name, would be on the cover of a book! And then I was given a copy of the book, something that looked grown up and real but containing stuff I’d made up while avoiding uni work! I did have to slap myself around the face from time to time and remind myself it was real. Lou came on board just after Twilight Herald was published I believe, and I have to say I didn’t really know what to expect. Having sold a fair bit of translation rights in my time I knew you often only ever spoke to you main editor and Jo and I have a very good relationship. I wasn’t sure whether I’d really ever even speak to Lou, but I’m glad to say it didn’t turn out that way and they actually go together perfectly (whether they realise it or not). It’s hard not to be caught up in his enthusiasm and we probably average an email a day as we chat about all sorts – whether it’s the nature of Gods, TV shows or ancient history. He’s a geek’s best friend really; extremely knowledgeable and so brimming with encouragement and excitement for what you’re doing he provides extra energy to get the work done! When I needed to know more about hell, for example, he had the perfect book for my needs and I suspect that’ll be a pattern to continue for a while to come.

The world you have created in The Twilight Reign series is mind-bogglingly (yay!) in depth and intriguing. How long did you spend world-building before the actual writing process began, and how much time did you spend fine tuning the world during the writing?

Before I started? About a day or two – I came up with the characteristics of the tribes, white-eyes and the sorts of Gods I wanted, after that I started to write. The world is very much something that’s developed in parallel with the books, sometimes through needing to solve a specific question, often just random thoughts that felt right at the time and I had to assume would make sense later! It’s a tapestry I’ve added to over the years, several aspects of which only exist in my brain and will probably never appear on the page but that’s the way these things work, I wouldn’t want it to be predictable.

We haven't seen the entire series yet, but what are your plans for the future? Do you have a new idea brewing? Do you plan to stay in the genre?

Absolutely, the only problem is shutting the new idea up for long enough to get the last books of Twilight Reign written! The book I started when I was giving up on ever seeing Stormcaller published will be what I hope to do next – no publisher has seen it yet so there’s nothing firmed up, but what I want is a set of stand-alone novels, with a loose series title of The Empire of a Hundred Houses. What I don’t want to do is launch into something as long and complex as Twilight Reign straight away; I need a rest where I’m only thinking about one book at a time! After Empire I’ve got some ideas sketched out for a more full-on multi-world fantasy than Empire (which will have the magic & monsters dialled down a bit, but remaining a fantasy setting) but it’s Moon’s Artifice and the three other Empire outlines I have to follow it that are the nagging voices keeping me awake.

Describe a day in the life of Tom Lloyd?

Pretty dull really! I can’t write in the mornings so I tend to just chill out, watch TV and check emails etc, then work out or attend to the basic admin of being an adult. After lunch I’m shut away in my study, music blaring and writing on an old computer that runs Windows NT and has been unhooked from the net so there’s nothing to distract me. That goes until six or so, then I realise I’m knackered and the wife’s about to arrive home so I should probably gear myself up for human interaction. Alternatively, I go into work which involves me staring at a computer and swearing– so basically the difference there is a lack of prog metal.

Do you have a favorite character in your series? Why? Which character is most like you?

I like loads of them – from the start Isak and Styrax were most realised in my head so became favourites, but others have forced their way in. Legana had only a small role in book 1 but she’s demanded greater prominence to the plot in each book, just as Doranei was only meant to be secondary until Zhia started flirting with him. Amber is another who’s carved a place for himself – while Mihn I knew was important and always treated him as such, but it was only half-way through writing book 3 that I realised why that was. As for the character who’s most like me, Isak’s got more of my personality than any of the rest. While he’s certainly not meant to be me and there are some major differences, I’m (only occasionally) irrational, stubborn, childish and prone to stupidity when angry, in the same way he is. As he’s my main character I’ve put more of myself and the teenager I used to be into Isak, something that was completely intentional from the start.

Who is your favorite author, other than yourself of course?

How could I pick just one? Terry Pratchett is a genius who deserves even more accolades than he receives and influenced the Twilight Reign hugely, while Steven Erikson is also brilliant and his Malazan series leaves me - someone who writes kinda complicated books - in awe, and that’s not even starting on Tolkien, le Carre, Greene or the writer whose style I enjoy perhaps more than any other’s: M R James.

We are seriously looking forward to THE RAGGED MAN. Any teasers you can share with us about it?

Let me think… Someone VERY major doesn’t make it to book five, there’s a wedding, more than one secondary character dies horribly, someone sells his soul (literally) and there’s a shadow with claws. Plus there’s invasion, mass-murder, daemons, Gods being bullied and a new white-eye nicknamed ‘The Mad Axe’. That enough?

Now, a super-tough question: Seriously, who do we have to bribe to get cameos in the final book of the series? We could die in gruesome manners. Come on. You know this sounds fun...

All requests should be given to me wrapped in a bundle of bank notes, the manner of death depending on how big the bundle is!

Thanks for visiting with us Tom, do you have any parting words for us and our readers?

Just that they should read the books all the way through! It’s a dumb thing maybe, but one reader review on Amazon annoyed me more than any other. The person said they’d given up after 470 pages, not bothering with the last 30 because they didn’t understand what was happening. If you hate it and give up after 50 pages, fine, but complaining that things aren’t tying together and refusing to allow that might happen in the last two chapters, well - it’s stupid, pure and simple. I ain’t going to be spoon-feeding the reader, if you don’t finish the book you may well have unanswered questions!


Go check out Tom's website and livejournal. Send him emails. He is cool.
www.tomlloyd.co.uk
http://tomlloyd.livejournal.com

Shocking though this may be, here at Elitist Book Reviews, we tend to think we are pretty awesome (like we said, shocking). Between ourselves (Steve & Nick), our newly acquired "Team" of reviewers (Vanessa, Dan, and Shawn), and even our occasional Guest Reviewers, we are a pretty solid bunch.

Now we don't want our faithful readers to take this the wrong way--because we love you guys and gals--but we have needs. Mostly to be recognized for what we do. We've been around for close to a year now. We've reviewed a sizable number of novels, and interviewed some terrific authors. We done good. Amidst it all, we mix serious opinions with our cutting wit and honest criticisms. Honesty is our best quality...as well and handsomeness and humility.

It turns out that there is a Book Blogger Appreciation Week from Sept. 13-17 of this year. Yeah we know. Crazy. People actually have a way to show appreciation for us nutty people who take absurd amounts of time to review novels for the grateful masses. We think it is a great idea.

For the unaware, maintaining an active Review Blog is actually a lot of hard work. It can feel like a full-time, unpaid job. If we feel sappy, we call it a labor of love (awwwwwwwwww!). You see, we love reading. We love Speculative Fiction (Fantasy, SF, Horror, etc.), and we love sharing our opinions on it. We love that through us, people have discovered books that have ignited their imaginations. We love that we are helping people be, stay, or become excited to read.

Our first year has been fantastic. We maintain a pretty awesome and active readership who freely share their opinions. You guys are awesome! We've had you all say numerous times that we are one of the better blogs out there. We agree (shocker).

As such, we are registering our not-so-humble blog for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW). With any luck, we'll make some sort of finalist's list of blogs for Speculative Fiction--not gonna lie, winning would be completely awesome. But really, we just want to support other bloggers: our jobs are hard, but rewarding. And we want to put ourselves out there for the people that haven't discovered us yet. The more review blogs you read, the more educated you become. You become literary elitists yourselves. You know, like us!

So, first off, head over to the BBAW website and check them out:

http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/

Next, the following will be several links to the reviews that show-off our style the best. The BBAW want this so all the judges read the same posts (we'll obviously make fans of them...). For our faithful readers, we wish we would have known about this sooner, we would have polled you to see which reviews and interviews you thought were the best. Alas, it is left up to us to toot our own horns...

...but let's face it, we are good at that.

Here we go:

Best Speculative Fiction Book Blog

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-am-not-serial-killer.html

BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/best-served-cold.html

GARDENS OF THE MOON by Steven Erikson - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/gardens-of-moon_9674.html

TWILIGHT by Stephanie Meyer (seriously, we did it) - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/twilight-seriously.html

SHADOW'S SON by Jon Sprunk - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/06/shadows-son.html


Best Author Interviews

Kristine Kathryn Rusch - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/interview-with-kristine-kathryn-rusch.html

R.A. Salvatore - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/ra-salvatore-interview.html

Tom Lloyd - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/tom-lloyd-interview.html

Dan Wells - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-with-dan-wells.html

Gail Carriger - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/soulless-review-and-gail-carriger.html


Best Written Book Blog

THE SILVER SKULL by Mark Chadbourn - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/silver-skull.html

KRAKEN by China Miéville - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/06/kraken.html

RETRIBUTION FALLS by Chris Wooding - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/retribution-falls.html

NEUROPATH by R Scott Bakker - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/neuropath.html

Elitist Classics Part 1 - http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/05/elitist-classics.html


Well there you have it. These are some of the reviews and interviews that best represent us, and that we have the fondest memories of. A solid list if we can pat ourselves on the back for a minute or five.

We had fun (mostly) reading these novels, and our readers always had fun reading the reviews. The BBAW is a fantastic venue for all of us hard-working bloggers to be recognized for our awesomeness.

For the judges of the BBAW Awards; enjoy. We hope you become fans of the blog.

For our readers; enjoy...uh...again.

For new readers; please remember that we are the center of the universe, and therefore are always right.


--Steve & Nick

Steve is your typical reader of books who loves to tell you what is good and, more importantly, what he hates. He grew up reading Lloyd Alexander, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Terry Brooks. Then he got a job at a Waldenbooks. In addition to improving his literary tastes, he was soon doing a lot of the managing duties there, and helped that particular store become the Numero Uno ranked store in the country. It was during this time that he decided his taste in books was better than everyone else’s (duh), and his customers/friends/family agreed.

Steve is the Editor of Elitist Book Reviews.

Favorite Authors: Steven Erikson, Tom Lloyd, Jonathan Maberry, Brian Lumley, Joe Abercrombie, James Barclay, Chris Wooding, Sarah Pinborough

Steve is an aspiring author himself. If you'd like to check out his published works, you can buy them here (they are awesome! Honest!):

"Fear" - Contained in THIS ANTHOLOGY WAS WRITTEN IN AN HOUR.
"Still Life" - Contained in THE CRIMSON PACT: VOL 2. If you want an in-depth look at the thought process (or lack thereof) behind the story, pick up the Special Edition of the Crimson Pact: Vol 2.
"Son of Fire, Son of Thunder" - Co-written by Larry Correia. Contained in THE CRIMSON PACT: VOL 2. If you want an in-depth look at the thought process (or lack thereof) behind the story, pick up the Special Edition of the Crimson Pact: Vol 2.
"That Which We Fear" - Co-written with Larry Correia. Contained in THE CRIMSON PACT: VOL 3.
"The Best Lies" - Contained in THE CRIMSON PACT: VOL 4.

The Elitist Book Reviews 2011 Hugo Ballot

Before we let you in on our opinions of the Hugo Awards, we are going to give you our picks. You'll notice that we didn't nominate in a few categories. Usually that means we either didn't read anything in that category, or just didn't feel like nominating. The Hugo Award nomination deadline is the 26th of March. If you attended WorldCon last year, or bought your membership to this year's convention in Reno before the 31st of January, you can nominate--and we strongly suggest you do so. If you have already electronically voted, and forgot to put us on your list (GASP!!!) you can just recast your entire ballot and add us in before the deadline. We aren't begging...oh who are we kidding, we're on hands and knees here groveling!

Now this isn't by any means a final list. This is really a collaborative mash-up of what we all think. Our individual ballots will probably be slightly different, and of course we may add stuff to it as we read/watch more of the various stuff that was released last year.


Best Novel
GEOSYNCHRON - David Louis Edelman
NIGHTS OF VILLJAMUR - Mark Charan Newton
TWELVE - Jasper Kent
THE RAGGED MAN - Tom Lloyd
MR. MONSTER - Dan Wells

Best Short Story
In the Stacks - Scott Lynch
The Family Business - Jonathan Maberry
The Non-Event - Mike Carey
The Goats of Glory - Steven Erikson
The Fool Jobs - Joe Abercrombie

Best Related Work
Writing Excuses Season 4
Elitist Book Reviews (Duh!!)

Best Graphic Story
Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form)
Inception

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)
The Walking Dead - Guts
The Walking Dead - Days Gone Bye

Best Editor (Long Form)
Lou Anders
Toni Weisskopf
Moshe Feder

Best Editor (Short Form)
Lou Anders
Jonathan Strahan
Christopher Golden

Best Professional Artist
Raymond Swanland
Stephan Martiniere
Isaac Stewart

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Dan Wells
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Larry Correia
Jasper Kent
Mark Charan Newton
John Brown


For a complete list of Hugo Categories, follow the link below:
Hugo Categories

The Hugo Awards. Honestly, we have mixed feelings about them. It's completely awesome for the authors/works that get picked...but we can't help but feel it is a popularity contest. Let's be honest, the main award for the Hugos is for Best Novel. This isn't to say the other categories are less important--in fact, we feel the other categories are more...well, let's say fair and an accurate representation of what the award represents. The award for Best Novel is the big one. The one that sells books.

But like we said, we have mixed feelings about it.

Before you go all "torches and pitchforks" on us (or even worse, delete your internet browser bookmark to our blog) hear us out. You may have noticed that our picks for the Hugo awards are very different from what usually gets picked. We have very little SF. We don't have the usual authors on the list. Just for fun, this is who we think will be on the final ballot for best novel: Sawyer, Willis (we wouldn't have a problem with this), Wolfe (his 2010 novel was good, but not great), Scalzi (doesn't have an eligible book? Doesn't matter), Stross...well, you get the picture.

It's not that these authors are bad. It's not like they don't write well. On the contrary, we like all those authors a lot. It's simply a matter of them, in our opinions, not being the best every time they write a novel. We love guys like Erikson, but even we will admit that his novel isn't ALWAYS the best novel released during the year. For example, Vernor Vinge has a novel coming out this year. Why even have an official nomination for the 2012 Hugos? When he writes something, it is an auto-win (for the record, we DO like Vinge). Are his novels ALWAYS the best written that year? Yeah we know, subjective judging and all that. But hopefully you get our point.

What appears to be happening is that the winner of the award is either a "Big Name Author" or has a blog with 82.5 bajillion hits a day (if you detect some jealously in that last bit, you'd be reading it correctly). When you look back over the list of winners, do you say, "Oh man, that was one of the best novels ever!" or do you say, "Huh. That won the award?" If you agree with the awards, then that's great. But we can't help but feel that it's like when you look back over the past Oscar winning movies and see The Hurt Locker or A Beautiful Mind. All too often the response is, "Really?"

We don't want to come across as bashing certain authors. We have a lot of respect for the authors that have become published and who have built up a loyal following. They got their awards, and we give them high-fives for it. We just wonder if there isn't a better way. We don't have a good solution. If you open the nominating up to everyone, then suddenly the latest YA Emo Vampire-of-the-Month gets nominated. No thanks. We just don't know. Maybe the people who attend need to be more well read--but then that is an unfair generalization.

But hey, what the heck do we know? Maybe we are just complaining since the books we think the best are rarely ever on the list--we vote, so we're allowed. It's not like the Hugo Awards are comparable to MVP awards for sports. No, those have actual stats to back them up. The Hugo Awards are totally subjective. In the end, this is a blog, and therefore an opinion. No doubt there are bajillions of bloggers and professionals out there who would read this and say, "Frak them." Different strokes for different folks and all that.

So. Since there is really nothing that we can do about it, and since we have no better ideas that we can implement without bailing on this blog and doing it ourselves (a tragic suggestion...unless we get paid), we've thrown our opinions out there the same as everybody else. Our votes are for works (or people) that we think are awesome. Not just those that are popular. We command...err...encourage you to do the same.

Remember when we said we found a few new series? This is another one of them. And it came with our friend, Tom Lloyd's recommendation. We know right? How could we NOT start this series up?!

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, by Mike Carey, is an Urban Fantasy that you will mostly likely find shelved in the horror section of your local bookstore. It is about an exorcist, Felix Castor, who is looking to get out of the game, but predictably takes one last job. That job is a haunting of a museum in London. Obviously, things go to hell in a hand-basket. Quite literally actually. Demon's and all that.

We understand that this isn't a new formula. Felix is pretty downtrodden, and he's poor, and he can be a tad snarky at times. (Not quite as snarky as Nick though.) Sound familiar? We're pretty sure we see Simon R. Green and Jim Butcher jumping up and down waving their arms in the back of the class, despite us telling Butcher to go stand in the corner repeatedly. Yeah. The formula won't be a big surprise.

Luckily for you (and us), the writing and the tone were what set this novel apart. Carey's novel is decidedly grimmer with less comedic content. You know what? This is a good thing. The PoV is an EXORCIST for heaven's sake (Hehe, that wasn't even intentional! Dang we are good!). This novel just FEELS different than the typical Urban Fantasy you see today. And boys and girls, it feels good.

It a sense, it feels like Carey took the Harry Dresden character from Butcher's novels and hardened the edges a bit. Felix Castor is a borderline alcoholic. He's more violent. He cracks jokes less often. He's made a ton more irreparable mistakes (some explained in detail, with others left for the sequels). And those mistakes have had serious consequences. The character is darker. We love it.

Now that isn't to say there aren't problems. Carey's transitions can be pretty poor. Sometimes we would start a new chapter, and be completely unsure what was going on for several pages. More than once we were checking to see if pages had been ripped out of our copies of the novel. Seriously, come on man. It happened enough times to be a nuisance. And a lot of these odd transitions were seemingly random scenes who's only purpose was to give the PoV a "brilliant idea" later on. If the museum exorcism was his last job, then why does Castor take other jobs at the same time (well, apart from the heavy-handed foreshadowing they give)? Also, there is a lot of standing around. You'd think with a demon chasing you (The demon was well done. A mark better than the Butcher incarnation of the same type of demon), there'd be more...well, chasing.

Problems aside, there is a lot going right in this novel, and the sequels have made it onto our lengthy list of books that have us excited to read. There is a much more serious tone in this novel, and of course the question left for the readers at the end, "Where to the recipients of exorcism go?" THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is quite a fun and easy read, and you should definitely go pick up the paperback of it.

Recommended Age: 17 and up. Lots of prostitution references and showings, not to mention the idea of exorcism isn't for the young. Also, see the info below as well.
Language: Yessir. Some of the characters are particularly foul-mouthed.
Violence: Yeah, especially at the end. Some may consider it disturbing.
Sex: Our PoV is in a strip club for half the novel. And he is chased by a succubus. Who catches him. Yeah, there is some sex in this novel.

Go by Mike Carey's website and give it a browse. He is a major player in the comic book arena, and his books seem to be pretty awesome.

http://mikeandpeter.com/

I think I was in third grade when I first learned about river deltas: places where a river empties into a large body of water, slowing from its directed flow into an ever-broadening depository of silt and mass that will, so often, teem with vibrant life. I can’t remember the last time I’d thought about the phenomena that result in such earthy structures, let alone the concept, and yet the analogy between a river delta and this book fit so perfectly to one another that I simply couldn’t deny it.

BLACKDOG is KV Johansen’s debut novel, and though I didn’t find this read overly amazing, I did end up making a few realizations about the search for new authors and what might be important when choosing to take a chance on one. The world in BLACKDOG is one that is rife with potential. Gods and demons fill the playing field, with the Old Great Gods having removed themselves from the scene quite some time ago. Attalissa, one of the plethora of regional-specific gods, has chosen of her own will to evidence herself as a mortal being that is perpetually reborn. She has taken for herself a protector, the Blackdog, that rears and teaches her of her potential and history with each renewal of life.

The story starts with a bang, as the renegade wizard, Tamghat, has gathered and brought an army to the doors of the Lissavakaili temple, on an island in the middle of a sacred lake within the holdfast of the mountains. Attalissa, alas, is too young and has not yet come into her godly powers. Thus she and the Blackdog are driven by the threat of death from her holy bastion, the only place in the expanse of the world in which she can survive, and into the realm of other non-mortalized, and very introverted gods. Thus, she becomes mortal in the true sense of the word, with no protections and no hope of re-attaining her position of power unless she returns one day and destroys the threat of Tamghat.

And that was really the problem with the story. The girl has to grow up before she can be powerful again and regain her throne.

So, she grows up, and in the interim, we learn a lot about the world, and the other gods, and how those gods interact with the world at large, and the history of the world. Like Tom Lloyd’s cover quote suggests, the book is quite “interesting” in this regard. There is a whole lot of what I considered world-building here, and it is filled with detail. This development, which we get throughout the entire book, was at the crux of my realization because this world literally “teems with vibrant life”. The world felt full. It felt realized. And it filled the pages. Showcasing this ability, I think, is probably what got the book noticed, because the author displays so much of what I think is missed by many others.

The other half of my delta-analogy though describes what really made the book difficult to enjoy. Amidst all of this apparent “life” and potential, the pacing of the book--which is obviously fast-going right from the beginning--quickly slowed into a languid crawl and never got moving again. Tamghat, instead of going after vulnerable girl and consuming her soul, decides to take up residence in Attalissa’s temple and wait for her to return. Attalissa, instead of trying to find some way of removing Tamghat from his position, runs into the desert to hide and grow up. And a third interested party, Moth (another protector of sorts for the entire world that ends up becoming a major player) has to spend the entire book tracking down Tamghat because she was lazing about in the snowy north, instead camping out in the place where the wizard had been trapped with several others of his kind. So we readers spend the entire book waiting for things to happen. And they do--eventually--but there was nothing surprising about the end in the slightest.

Characterization was pretty rough. A few characters are fairly well fleshed-out, but on the whole they were scattered and had sketchy motivations. The cast of characters was massive too: thirteen. The major amount of time revolves around those few that I’ve listed above, but introducing all the others absolutely slaughtered the pacing of the first fifth of the book. Moth was definitely my favorite PoV, because she was the one character that had clear motivations and concerted movement toward her goal for the entire book. The others just seemed to do a whole lot of waiting, and planning, and passing the time.

On the whole, the book was WAY too long to support the story, but about spot on for what it could have been. There’s so much potential here that I think could really lead to good things in later novels. That is, if that potential is harnessed and instructed and then pointed in a single direction. I’ll be very interested in seeing where this newly-published author goes with her future work.

Recommended age: 14+
Language: Very little
Violence: A few injuries from swords, broken bones, people die
Sex: Obviously avoided in several instances

K.V. Johansen's Website

So, the end of 2012 totally snuck up on us here at Elitist Book Reviews. One minute we were looking at all of our most anticipated novels for 2012, and the next they were all on our collective bookshelves.

And man, did we have some great reads this year. We haven't even had time to post reviews for all of them yet--don't worry, they are coming.

So, here is our list of favorites for the year. They aren't in any particular order, and we cheat wherever we want (if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying hard enough).

BEST OF 2012:

CALIBAN'S WAR - JAMES S.A. Corey - Review
THE KING'S BLOOD - Daniel Abraham - Review
SCOURGE OF THE BETRAYER - Jeff Salyards - Review
MONSTER HUNTER LEGION - Larry Correia - Review
THE BLINDING KNIFE - Brent Weeks - Review
RANGE OF GHOSTS - Elizabeth Bear - Review
THE COLDEST WAR - Ian Tregillis - Review
KING OF THORNS - Mark Lawrence - Review
RED COUNTRY - Joe Abercrombie - Review
THE DUSK WATCHMAN - Tom Lloyd - Review
THE DAEMON PRISM - Carol Berg - Review
ASSASSIN'S CODE - Jonathan Maberry - Review
THE DIVINERS - Libba Bray - Review
PARTIALS - Dan Wells - Review


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

FORGE OF DARKNESS - Steven Erikson - Review
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON - Mark Hodder - Review
THE PROVIDENCE RIDER - Robert McCammon - Review
LEGION - Brandon Sanderson - Review
THE HOLLOW CITY - Dan Wells - Review
COLD DAYS - Jim Butcher - Review


WORST OF 2012:

11/22/63 - Stephen King - Review
NOCTURNAL - Scott Sigler - Review
ANGEL - Nicole Marrow - Review


THE BEST COMING IN 2013...

A MEMORY OF LIGHT - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Actually we've already read it. look for a review on January 8th, 2013)
ABADDON'S GATE - James S.A. Corey
THE TYRANT'S LAW - Daniel Abraham
REPUBLIC OF THIEVES - Scott Lynch (PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!!)
PROMISE OF BLOOD - Brian McClellan (Already been read, actually. Awesome.)
NO RETURN - Zachary Jernigan
THE GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES: WARBOUND - Larry Correia
FRAGMENTS - Dan Wells
THE BLOOD MIRROR - Brent Weeks
Stormlight #2 - Brandon Sanderson
SHATTERED PILLARS - Elizabeth Bear
GRAVEYARD CHILD - M. L. N. Hanover
FROST BURNED - Patricia Briggs
EXTINCTION MACHINE - Jonathan Maberry
EMPEROR OF THORNS - Mark Lawrence

And yeah, we could keep listing anticipated reads. I mean, good grief, there is an unbelievable amount of stuff coming out.

What were your favorite reads? What are you looking forward to?

2010 was an interesting year for novels. Honestly it was a struggle to put together a limited list that contained our favorites for the year. Depending on the type of reader you are, this could have been the best year in recent memory, or even a disappointment. Below you will find our list of best reads of 2010 (in no particular order). Keep in mind that this is based upon US releases only, so there may be a few omitted titles. Also keep in mind that Steve cheats and uses full releases by authors rather than just single titles.

***

BEST OF 2010--These were our collective favorite reads of the year.

GEOSYNCHRON by David Louis Edelman
James Barclay's novels -- ELFSORROW and SHADOWHEART
SWORDS & DARK MAGIC edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
THE RAGGED MAN by Tom Lloyd
Adrian Tchaikovsky's novels -- EMPIRE IN BLACK AND GOLD, DRAGONFLY FALLING, BLOOD OF THE MANTIS and SALUTE THE DARK
MR. MONSTER by Dan Wells
TOME OF THE UNDERGATES by Sam Sykes
TWELVE by Jasper Kent
SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY by Mary Robinette Kowal
THE BIRD OF THE RIVER by Kage Baker
BLACKOUT and ALL CLEAR by Connie Willis
NIGHTS OF VILLJAMUR by Mark Charan Newton

HONORABLE MENTIONS--any other year these would have made our "Best Of" list:

HABITATION OF THE BLESSED by Catherynne M. Valente
ANTIPHON by Ken Scholes
ROT & RUIN by Jonathan Maberry
THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson
THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden
TERMINAL WORLD by Alastair Reynolds
THE DUST OF DREAMS by Steven Erikson

Is there stuff missing here? Probably. A bunch of UK only releases (Chris Wooding we love you!). We had to cut it off somewhere. What about you? What are your picks of the year?

***

WORST OF 2010

Yep. These books happened. Don't feel insulted if we hated a book you loved, we just have different taste than you do.

DEXTER IS DELICIOUS by Jeff Lindsay
THE QUESTING ROAD by Lyn McConkie
HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu

***

COMING IN 2011...

2011 is shaping up to be amazing. Just browsing Tor's and Pyr's catalogs has our hearts pitter-pattering with excitement. We've already read some of these...yep we are rubbing it in. Check this out:


New Chris Wooding
THE SCARAB PATH by Adrian Tchaikovsky
THE CRIPPLED GOD by Steven Erikson
EMBASSYTOWN by China Mieville
THE DRAGON'S PATH by Daniel Abraham
BLUE REMEMBERED EARTH by Alastair Reynolds
THE HEROES by Joe Abercrombie
REPUBLIC OF THIEVES by Scott Lynch
WISE MAN'S FEAR by Patrick Rothfuss
A MEMORY OF LIGHT by Sanderson/Jordan (could get pushed to 2012)
RIVER MARKED by Patricia Briggs
THE INHERITANCE by Robin Hobb (hopefully more like her early writing)
MISTBORN: THE ALLOY OF LAW by Brandon Sanderson
I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU by Dan Wells
VORTEX by Robert Charles Wilson
CHILDREN OF THE SKY by Vernor Vinge
DEATHLESS by Catherynne M. Valente

That's just scratching the surface...

It was our New Year's Resolution for 2011 to make sure that our Best of 2011 post actually made it into 2011. And yeah, we totally nailed it! (Barely)

This year was just unreal. How do you pick the best books when there were so many freaking amazing ones? The answer?

Dart-board...........OK not really. Maybe. And like usual, we cheat if an author had more than one book out.

***

BEST OF 2011--These were our collective favorite reads of the year.

I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU - Dan Wells
THE SCARAB PATH - Adrian Tchaikovsky
THIRTEEN YEARS LATER and THE THIRD SECTION - Jasper Kent
THE CRIPPLED GOD - Steven Erikson
VARIANT - Robison Wells
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN - Mark Hodder
AMONG OTHERS - Jo Walton
THE HEROES - Joe Abercrombie
THE DRAGON'S PATH and LEVIATHAN WAKES - Daniel Abraham, James S. A. Corey
DEMONSTORM and RAVENSOUL - James Barclay
EMBASSYTOWN - China Miéville
READY PLAYER ONE - Ernest Cline
HARD MAGIC and SPELLBOUND - Larry Correia
IRON JACKAL - Chris Wooding

HONORABLE MENTIONS--any other year these would have made our "Best Of" list (and that list is already crazy awesome and long!!!!!):

THE ALLOY OF LAW - Brandon Sanderson
STONEWIELDER - Ian C. Esslemont
THE SOUL MIRROR - Carol Berg
CHILDREN OF THE SKY - Vernor Vinge
THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING and DEATHLESS - Catherynne M. Valente
WITH FATE CONSPIRE - Marie Brennan
DEADLINE by Mira Grant

Yeah...as you can see this year was just AMAZING. The books above are a mix of all the reviewers' various picks. We feel absolutely horrible for leaving off any other awesome books, but we had to cut it off somewhere.

***

COMING IN 2012...

After the year we just had, you'd think we'd be jaded. No freaking way. 2012 is set to blow our (and therefore, your) minds!

REPUBLIC OF THIEVES by Scott Lynch (for real this time)
THE KING'S BLOOD by Daniel Abraham
CALIBAN'S WAR by James S. A. Corey
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON by Mark Hodder
BLUE REMEMBERED EARTH by Alastair Reynolds
THE SKYBOUND SEA by Sam Sykes
THE GAMES by Ted Kosmatka
FORGE OF DARKNESS by Steven Erikson
A MEMORY OF LIGHT by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
THE DAEMON PRISM by Carol Berg
A RED COUNTRY by Joe Abercrombie
MONSTER HUNTER LEGION by Larry Correia
THE SEA WATCH by Adrian Tchaikovsky
ORB SCEPTRE THRONE by Ian C. Esslemont
THE BONEYARDS by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
THE CHOSEN SEED by Sarah Pinborough
BLACKOUT by Mira Grant
THE DUSK WATCHMAN by Tom Lloyd


There are a bajillion other books coming out next year that we didn't list. Let's face it, we are book readers. There are probably dozens more books coming out y our favorite authors that we don't even know are coming out yet. That's the nature of the game.

So, sound off in the comments below about your own choices for best of the year and which ones you are the most excited for.

Fantasy 301:
This is it, what you've all been waiting for. What Steve and I think are the best books of Fantasy right now. The books that once you've trained yourself for them, that you should not go without reading. Well, maybe you haven't been waiting for it because if you're half as smart as we, reluctantly, give you credit for, than you have probably already guessed the books, or at least the authors.

So why did we wait so long? Well, let's face it; most people will feel like the 301 level of fantasy a pretty steep hill if they aren't prepared. There is a reason we want you to read the 101 and 201 levels first (and yes even the 102 and 202). Those books give you the building-blocks of what fantasy is. If you're already a fantasy reader, then these lessons can be taken and used as checklists of must-reads, because our tastes is just THAT good. If haven't been a fantasy reader, (because you must be by now if you have made it to 301) and you've followed our guidelines, you may be prepared for these novels.

The learning curve jumps significantly here, don't freak out. Though we picked different novels, we are, in reality, pretty unanimous on all our choices here. That should tell you something. Great minds and all that...

One thing to note here: these books are a lot more mature in terms of content. Most of them have more language than the previous books we recommended, more sexual content, and perhaps more violence. Refer to our reviews of these novels for the specifics. Don't feel bad if the content is too much for you; that's why there are a ton of 200-level novels. Read these novels, feel them out, and decide if they are too much for you.

However, this is where the best fiction in the SF&F genre lies, and if you let yourself get sucked into the world-building and characters, you might just find yourself (like we were) in awe of the stories told in these novels.

Enjoy.


Steve's Picks:
Fantasy has changed over the past decade. In the 90's we were swamped with either Jordanesque fantasy or with the last vestiges of Tolkienesque fantasy. There really was no variety, and I think that hurt the genre. Martin was really ahead of his time when he wrote A GAME OF THRONES, and I think he really set the tone for what fantasy has become. He decided that fantasy readers were intelligent. I know, crazy huh?

Rather than treat readers like they are a dumb subspecies of the human race (read: Goodkind), authors began writing fantasy novels that made people think. The learning curves got steeper and steeper. When I think of fantasy 301, I think of the fantasy novels that make all others simple, and somewhat dull, by comparison. In my picks, the characters are a lovely shade of gray, the plots aren't clear-cut, the villains truly brutal (until you see their PoV, and then you can't help but love them as well), and the worlds amazingly imaginative and deep.

For my picks, I decided to go with authors who have been around for a bit. You could say they are all established, and they paved the way for the newer authors that Nick gets into below (in some cases, the authors I chose literally helped get some of Nick's picks published). These are the authors that make me excited to sit down and read. They are the authors that make me stare anxiously at the clock while I'm at work because I can't wait to read the next chapter.









Gardens of the Moon -- Steven Erikson









A Game of Thrones -- George R.R. Martin









Perdido Street Station -- China Miéville









Night of Knives -- Ian C. Esslemont
(Yes, I'm kinda cheating here. This is part of the same series as Gardens of the Moon, but written by a different author. It's a shared-world project that Erikson and Esslemont have going on. You have to understand, the Malazan series, for me, is the best work in print. Period.)






Nick's Picks:
Instead of going into detail about each book, like I have done in the previous University entries, I am going to keep this short and sweet. I have reviewed books by every one of these authors and have said what needs to be said about them and their work individually. As a whole, this group of authors comprises what I feel is the literary equivalent of the rat pack (or brat pack if you prefer). When a reader thinks about the fantasy genre, these are the names that should pop into their head immediately behind Tolkien and Jordan. Others may disagree with me, but I do have my reasons.

One, they are the current face of fantasy. Therefore they are the authors who are the driving force determining where the genre will go (like Grandpa T and Jordan did before them). Two, they know their craft. For being so newly published they show incredible depth in their characters and their plotting. Finally, though there are still many fans of the high sorcery and adventure fantasy that many of us grew up with, I believe that an astonishing and growing number of us readers are looking for something harder and grittier, while not explicit or gratuitous, but with a feeling of immediacy in the writing (Picky right?). We are looking for critical thinking and philosophy in our entertainment. We want books with all of these things, without giving up what fantasy is. These authors deliver exactly that.

They are fantasy books in every way shape and form, but they are also books that beg the reader to ask questions while never missing a beat to thrill us, the readers.









The Blade Itself -- Joe Abercrombie









The Darkness That Comes Before -- R. Scott Bakker









The Lies of Locke Lamora -- Scott Lynch









The Stormcaller -- Tom Lloyd








(Yes I used multiple covers for these books. Get off my back. They are all just way too cool not to show off.)